CENTER FOR FAMILY CARE:

Established by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, the Archdiocesan Center for Family Care has begun its ministry for families. The Roundtable on the Family, a select group of clergy and lay people, has met to help bring to fruition a varied program of support.

The goal for the Center for Family Care will be to affirm the importance of the family as a blessed gift from God and to address the specific needs of families as they try to live in a very challenging culture and world.

Resources Available include:

• Table Prayer Guide–provides a collection of Orthodox prayers and meditations for daily use. It teaches the importance of frequent prayer, and it guides in how to pray.
• Family Worship Brochure–emphasizes the importance of having a place for worship in the home, including creating and using an iconostasion.
• Weekly Family Night–includes lessons and activities based on the Sunday Gospel readings to help guide the family in Bible study and worship.
• Monthly Parish Family Night–this resource will provide suggestions for worship and fellowship, as well as educational sessions for the various age groups within the entire parish.
• Family Synaxis–over the course of a weekend families will have time to learn, discuss and reflect on what it means to be an Orthodox Family and the role of the family in the Church.
• Parenting Seminars–These one-day parenting and family seminars will be conducted throughout the Archdiocese to address the needs of today’s families.
• Center for Family Care Web Site–Launched in January 2005 as a place where Year of the Family resources are available.

Interfaith Marriage:

The Department of Marriage and Family has been established to consider issues relevant to the well-being of marriage, family life, our Church and society. While this department is quickly expanding its focus to include all marital and family challenges, a significant part of the department’s work is still concerned with the intermarriage challenge.

Vital statistics kept by the Department of Registry indicate that the numbers of inter-Christian marriages conducted in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA) have steadily increased. Today, nearly two thirds (63%) of all marriages conducted in the GOA are designated inter-Christian. When Greek Orthodox persons marrying outside of the GOA are also considered, intermarriage rates are likely closer to 75 - 80%.

Given these and other similar statistics, the Archdiocese has chosen to view these trends as a challenge and an opportunity for growth. With love toward all, and with a desire to witness Orthodoxy to all persons who choose to worship in the GOA, the Archdiocese has taken a proactive approach in its efforts to reach out to intermarried couples and their families. Some of the steps taken are as follows:

• As a result of the information that has emerged from the Interfaith Research Project (IRP), together with the SWOT analysis, all resources produced by this department are evidenced based and firmly grounded on Orthodox Theology.
• An Interfaith Marriage Web site affords clergy, lay leaders, lay workers and inter-Christian, interfaith couples opportunities to (a) offer feedback and ask questions, (b) communicate privately with Fr. Charles regarding issues of a personal, semi-therapeutic nature, and (c) provides interested persons access to additional readings, resources and related links.
• A regular column continues to be featured in the in the Orthodox Observer addressing marital and family concerns.
• Articles have been authored for professional journals as well as theological publications. These articles are now available on the Interfaith Marriage Web site.
• A resource entitled, When You Intermarry: A Resource for Inter-Christian Intercultural Couples, Parents and Families is now available.
• A companion resource for clergy and lay leaders entitled, Ministering to Intermarried Couples: A Resource for Clergy and Lay Workers is also available.
• A new resource is now available. It is entitled, Attending to Your Marriage: A Resource for Christian Couples. The information in this resource seeks to help couples protect and promote marital satisfaction in the divorce culture in which we live.
• Marriage building workshops, and lectures on the topic of intermarriage are being conducted across the GOA for clergy, seminarians, laity, and intermarried couples. (Those desiring more information about these workshops may log onto the Interfaith Marriage Web site or contact Fr. Charles Joanides.)